The Power of Your Story

Introduction

Acts 26:1 ESV

So Agrippa said to Paul, “You have permission to speak for yourself.” Then Paul stretched out his hand and made his defense:

Introduction

1. Illustration: In his book, Just Walk Across The Room, Bill Hybels says, "Our affinity for stories begins at an early age, as little kids begging weary parents, "read it again, read it again.!" As we become mature, contributing members of society, our childlike fascination with the powerful hero or the magical fairy morph's into a simple desire to enter into someone else's reality in hope of making sense of our own...Every person alive today has a story too. And possibly the greatest realization a person can make is this: "My story fits into God's greater story - and that's the greatest story ever told."

2. How about you? Does your story fit into the greatest story ever told? The answer to that question ought to be a resounding, "yes!" Your story fits into God's story because you fit into God's story, and God can use your story to make a difference in someone else's life.

3. Paul shows us how to tell our story. He shows us to start with...

A. Your Past

B. Your Personal Encounter

C. Your Challenge

Acts 26:1–32 ESV

So Agrippa said to Paul, “You have permission to speak for yourself.” Then Paul stretched out his hand and made his defense: “I consider myself fortunate that it is before you, King Agrippa, I am going to make my defense today against all the accusations of the Jews, especially because you are familiar with all the customs and controversies of the Jews. Therefore I beg you to listen to me patiently. “My manner of life from my youth, spent from the beginning among my own nation and in Jerusalem, is known by all the Jews. They have known for a long time, if they are willing to testify, that according to the strictest party of our religion I have lived as a Pharisee. And now I stand here on trial because of my hope in the promise made by God to our fathers, to which our twelve tribes hope to attain, as they earnestly worship night and day. And for this hope I am accused by Jews, O king! Why is it thought incredible by any of you that God raises the dead? “I myself was convinced that I ought to do many things in opposing the name of Jesus of Nazareth. And I did so in Jerusalem. I not only locked up many of the saints in prison after receiving authority from the chief priests, but when they were put to death I cast my vote against them. And I punished them often in all the synagogues and tried to make them blaspheme, and in raging fury against them I persecuted them even to foreign cities. “In this connection I journeyed to Damascus with the authority and commission of the chief priests. At midday, O king, I saw on the way a light from heaven, brighter than the sun, that shone around me and those who journeyed with me. And when we had all fallen to the ground, I heard a voice saying to me in the Hebrew language, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me? It is hard for you to kick against the goads.’ And I said, ‘Who are you, Lord?’ And the Lord said, ‘I am Jesus whom you are persecuting. But rise and stand upon your feet, for I have appeared to you for this purpose, to appoint you as a servant and witness to the things in which you have seen me and to those in which I will appear to you, delivering you from your people and from the Gentiles—to whom I am sending you to open their eyes, so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me.’ “Therefore, O King Agrippa, I was not disobedient to the heavenly vision, but declared first to those in Damascus, then in Jerusalem and throughout all the region of Judea, and also to the Gentiles, that they should repent and turn to God, performing deeds in keeping with their repentance. For this reason the Jews seized me in the temple and tried to kill me. To this day I have had the help that comes from God, and so I stand here testifying both to small and great, saying nothing but what the prophets and Moses said would come to pass: that the Christ must suffer and that, by being the first to rise from the dead, he would proclaim light both to our people and to the Gentiles.” And as he was saying these things in his defense, Festus said with a loud voice, “Paul, you are out of your mind; your great learning is driving you out of your mind.” But Paul said, “I am not out of my mind, most excellent Festus, but I am speaking true and rational words. For the king knows about these things, and to him I speak boldly. For I am persuaded that none of these things has escaped his notice, for this has not been done in a corner. King Agrippa, do you believe the prophets? I know that you believe.” And Agrippa said to Paul, “In a short time would you persuade me to be a Christian?” And Paul said, “Whether short or long, I would to God that not only you but also all who hear me this day might become such as I am—except for these chains.” Then the king rose, and the governor and Bernice and those who were sitting with them. And when they had withdrawn, they said to one another, “This man is doing nothing to deserve death or imprisonment.” And Agrippa said to Festus, “This man could have been set free if he had not appealed to Caesar.”

Proposition:

Proposition: God wants to use your story to give someone else’s story a happy ending.

God wants to use your story to give someone else’s story a happy ending.

Transition:

The place to start is by telling people about...

I. Your Past (1-11).

A. I Used To Believe

1. Like all of us, Paul had a story to tell. He starts out by saying he wasn't always the way he appears to be now. In other words, he was a man with a past.

2. Our chapter begins with "Then Agrippa said to Paul, “You may speak in your defense.” So Paul, gesturing with his hand, started his defense: 2 “I am fortunate, King Agrippa, that you are the one hearing my defense today against all these accusations made by the Jewish leaders, 3 for I know you are an expert on all Jewish customs and controversies. Now please listen to me patiently!"

A. This is Paul's final hearing in Acts, and the third account of his conversion, giving new details.

B. With Agrippa's permission to speak for himself, Paul "gesturing with his hand" in the manner of a Roman orator) and proceeded to make his defense.

C. He counted himself fortunate to appear before Agrippa because he was "well acquainted with all the Jewish customs and controversies."

D. (Being a Jew by religion, Agrippa could be expected to have a concern about these things.) Therefore Paul begged him to "listen... patiently" (Horton, 385).

3. Now Paul talks about his background. He says, “As the Jewish leaders are well aware, I was given a thorough Jewish training from my earliest childhood among my own people and in Jerusalem. 5 If they would admit it, they know that I have been a member of the Pharisees, the strictest sect of our religion."

A. Paul pointed out first that all the Jews had known him "for a long time," his manner of life in Tarsus as a child as well as in Jerusalem as an adult.

B. They knew he "lived as a Pharisee," publicly following the teachings of this strictest of Jewish sects (Horton, 385).

C. He affirms that his background as a strict Pharisee places him in continuity with his Jewish religious roots.

D. Within his nation, particularly in Jerusalem, he has consistently lived out the Old Testament and Jewish ideal of piety ever since I was a child (Larkin, 355).

4. Next Paul affirms what, in his mind, is the reason he is on trial. He states, "Now I am on trial because of my hope in the fulfillment of God’s promise made to our ancestors. 7 In fact, that is why the twelve tribes of Israel zealously worship God night and day, and they share the same hope I have. Yet, Your Majesty, they accuse me for having this hope!

8 Why does it seem incredible to any of you that God can raise the dead?"

A. Now Paul stood there being judged "because of [the] hope in what God... promised" the patriarchs (Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and possibly other ancestors of Israel).

B. This promise, Paul said, "our twelve tribes" in earnestness served (worshiped) God day and night "hoping to see fulfilled" (to reach as their God-given destination).

C. The Jews' accusation against Paul concerned this hope. Why would the king judge it incredible if "God raises the dead?"

D. Paul thus declares that Christ's resurrection and ours is the fulfillment of prophecy and is central to our worldview and to our view of life after death (Horton, 386).

5. Now Paul begins to talk about the darkness of his past. He says, “I used to believe that I ought to do everything I could to oppose the very name of Jesus the Nazarene. 10 Indeed, I did just that in Jerusalem. Authorized by the leading priests, I caused many believers there to be sent to prison. And I cast my vote against them when they were condemned to death. 11 Many times I had them punished in the synagogues to get them to curse Jesus. I was so violently opposed to them that I even chased them down in foreign cities."

A. Paul, like so many of the great witnesses to Christ, openly confessed what Christ had saved him from.

B. He had thought it necessary to do "all that was possible" against Jesus of Nazareth (His character, nature, and authority); he had "put many of the the believers in prison."

C. When they were put to death, he had "cast [his] vote against them."

D. Going from synagogue to synagogue, he had often punished the believers, trying to compel them to "curse Jesus."

E. Nevertheless, by his violent persecution of believers he was trying to destroy the Church.

F. So exceedingly and madly enraged had he been against them that he had pursued them "even... to foreign cities." (Horton, 386-387).

G. It signifies that Paul was one of the major leaders in the campaign against Christianity and that he was actively involved in prosecuting Christians (Fernando, 594).

H. Not only was he not a Christian, but he actively and vehemently opposed them.

B. Everyone Has A BC Story

1. Illustration: It doesn't matter who you are, everyone of us has what we used to call when I first got saved BC stories (BC stands for "before Christ"). In those days there was a small but dedicated group of Christian friends with whom I used to hang out. Most of us had what would be considered "gutter to glory" stories. In other words, we were all ex-drug addicts and alcoholics. One member of our group, a really nice young lady, told me that she felt out of place because she didn't have one of those stories to tell. What I told her was that even if you didn't have to get saved from all of those types of things you still have a strong testimony. You can tell the story of how God saved you from doing any of those things to begin with, and there will always be someone who is like you that needs to hear about Jesus.

2. We all have a BC story to tell!

A. (NLT)

“I don’t know whether he is a sinner,” the man replied. “But I know this: I was blind, and now I can see!”

B. We all have a story of how we came to know Jesus and what he has done in our lives since then.

C. We are all sinners in need of God's grace.

D. The Bible says we have all sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.

E. There is no one good enough to make it to heaven without coming to Jesus.

F. We all have to say, "Once I was blind but now I can see."

G. So we all have a story to tell.

H. We all have an event or maybe a series of events that tell how we came to accept Jesus as our Savior.

I. Because it all boils down to this: we all need Jesus!

Transition: After telling your BC story, you ought to tell...

II. Your Personal Encounter (12-18).

A. I Am Jesus

1. Now Paul proceeds to tell Agrippa about the personal encounter that he had with the risen Jesus.

2. He told him, “One day I was on such a mission to Damascus, armed with the authority and commission of the leading priests. 13 About noon, Your Majesty, as I was on the road, a light from heaven brighter than the sun shone down on me and my companions. 14 We all fell down, and I heard a voice saying to me in Aramaic, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me? It is useless for you to fight against my will.’ 15 “‘Who are you, lord?’ I asked. “And the Lord replied, ‘I am Jesus, the one you are persecuting."

A. Paul then recounted the story of his conversion on the road to Damascus, where he was going with "the authority and commission" the chief priests had given him. Comparing the "light from heaven" with the noonday sun, he emphasizes its brightness (Horton, 387).

B. He recounts that Jesus spoke to him in Aramaic, suggesting that this was Christ's first language.

C. Also to his words are added the comment, "It is hard for you to kick against the goads," or as the NLT translates it "fight against my will."

D. This proverb has been used to buttress the idea that Paul was a troubled person, fighting his conscience prior to his conversion.

E. This proverb appears often in classical writings. Bible scholar Daniel Fuller explains that it was "often used by the Greeks to express the futility of striving against fate or against the gods, and its meaning to Paul on the Damascus road was that it was now futile for him to try any longer to work against Christ as it would be for an ox to kick against the plowman's goad" (Fernando, 595).

3. Paul now goes from his encounter with Jesus to his commission. Jesus said to him, "Now get to your feet! For I have appeared to you to appoint you as my servant and witness. You are to tell the world what you have seen and what I will show you in the future."

A. Here Paul mentions a direct commissioning from Jesus right on the Damascus road, where he was appointed as a servant and a witness of Christ and of what he would show him (Fernando, 595).

B. Jesus said he appeared to Paul to appoint him to the important task of being a "servant" and a witness "both of what you saw and of what I shall appear continue to reveal] to you."

C. Later, Paul humbly calls himself a slave (Gk. doulos) of Jesus. This shows he responded by giving himself completely to the Lord's service (Horton, 387).

4. Then Jesus tells him, "And I will rescue you from both your own people and the Gentiles. Yes, I am sending you to the Gentiles 18 to open their eyes, so they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God. Then they will receive forgiveness for their sins and be given a place among God’s people, who are set apart by faith in me.’"

A. Jesus promised to rescue Paul from his "own people" and from "the Gentiles" (the nations) He was sending him to.

B. Paul would be Jesus' agent "to open their eyes" and to "turn them from [the] darkness" of sin and ignorance to the "light" of the gospel, and from the authority of Satan to the (true) God, so that they might receive "forgiveness of sins."

C. With that forgiveness they would also receive "a place" (Gk. klēron, "an inheritance"); that is, they would be recipients of God's grace and His promises among those who are "sanctified" (made holy, set apart to God as His people to do His will) "by faith in me" (that is, the kind of faith that is fixed in Christ).

D. Thus Paul showed that Jesus himself gave him a commission to carry out His work, as Isaiah prophesied of the Messiah in 42:6-7 and 61:1-2.

E. That is, Paul would be sharing in the work of Christ and carrying it on.

F. Paul did not simply know about Christ; he knew Christ. Until the fact of the risen Christ becomes part of our lives, something motivating and empowering us, we have little to say, even if we know the facts" (Horton, 388).

B. Encounter Of The Best Kind

1. Illustration: When I was a teenager I had some great posters in my room. Of course I had a poster of my guitar hero Phil Keaggy and a poster of Farah Faucett. But I also had a really cool Christian posters in my room. One of those posters was a take off on the movie Close Encounters. It said, "Close Encounter of the best kind; Jesus...we are not alone!

2. Tell people about your personal encounter with the risen Jesus!

A. (NLT)

Suddenly, their eyes were opened, and they recognized him. And at that moment he disappeared! 32 They said to each other, “Didn’t our hearts burn within us as he talked with us on the road and explained the Scriptures to us?”

B. I never tire of telling people about my personal encounter with Jesus because it is nothing short of a miracle. It was a divine encounter with the Son of God.

C. Maybe your personal encounter with Jesus is not as dramatic as mine, but it is no less a miracle.

D. Maybe you went to church all you life with your parents and one day came to realization that you need to give your heart to Jesus...that's a miracle!

E. Tell people how he came into your life and now your life has changed.

F. That's what the Christian life is all about...transformation!

G. That's why our vision statement is "transforming lives one at a time!" because it's about personal transformation.

H. Tell people about what Jesus has done in your life because it just might change theirs!

Transition: After you tell your story it's time for...

III. Your Challenge (19-32).

A. Do You Believe The Prophets

1. Now that Paul has told Agrippa about his personal encounter with Jesus he tells how his life changed.

2. He speaks directly to Agrippa, “And so, King Agrippa, I obeyed that vision from heaven.

20 I preached first to those in Damascus, then in Jerusalem and throughout all Judea, and also to the Gentiles, that all must repent of their sins and turn to God—and prove they have changed by the good things they do. 21 Some Jews arrested me in the Temple for preaching this, and they tried to kill me."

A. Paul then declared that he had not been "disobedient to the vision from heaven." The word "vision" here does not mean a dream-type vision, but an actual appearance, in which Jesus in person spoke to him.

B. His obedience was shown in the way he declared to the Jews at Damascus, Jerusalem, all Judea, and also to the Gentiles that "they should repent" (change their minds and fundamental attitudes), "turn to God," and then "prove their repentance by their deeds."

C. It was because of this message (which included blessings for the Gentiles) that the Jews seized Paul in the temple and attempted to kill him (Horton, 389).

3. Next he tells the King how God protected him so he could preach the good news. He said, "But God has protected me right up to this present time so I can testify to everyone, from the least to the greatest. I teach nothing except what the prophets and Moses said would happen— 23 that the Messiah would suffer and be the first to rise from the dead, and in this way announce God’s light to Jews and Gentiles alike.”

A. Paul again began to bear witness to Christ. By the help of God he was still alive and was standing "to this very day," testifying "to small and great alike."

B. The great, of course, included King Agrippa. Paul's witness was not limited to his own experience, however.

C. Everything he said was only "what the prophets and Moses [had already] said would happen."

D. In other words, Paul's total message was based on the Scriptures: They declared that the Messiah must suffer; they showed how He, "as the first to rise from the dead," would proclaim light to the people (the Jews) and to the Gentiles (the nations).

E. His resurrection was and is the central assurance of the gospel, the pledge of our resurrection (Horton, 389-390).

4. However, not everyone was happy to hear what Paul had to say. Luke tells us, "Suddenly, Festus shouted, “Paul, you are insane. Too much study has made you crazy!” 25 But Paul replied, “I am not insane, Most Excellent Festus. What I am saying is the sober truth."

A. PAUL'S SPEECH IS too much for the practical Roman official, Festus, who knows little about the intricacies of Jewish theology.

B. He recognizes that Paul is a learned man, but he cries out that his learning has driven him insane (Fernando, 596).

C. This was a powerful defense of the gospel. Festus felt its conviction and reacted against it by interrupting Paul.

5. Now Paul uses the attack from Festus to challenge Agrippa. "And King Agrippa knows about these things. I speak boldly, for I am sure these events are all familiar to him, for they were not done in a corner! 27 King Agrippa, do you believe the prophets? I know you do—”

A. Had Paul been addressing Festus primarily, he would have presumably presented his words in a way that Festus would have understood.

B. But here he is speaking to Agrippa, and Paul knows that the king understands what he is talking about (26:26a).

C. He is positive that Agrippa already knows many of the facts about Christianity because these things were "not done in a corner" (Fernando, 596).

D. Paul zeros in at this stage with a direct challenge to Agrippa: "King Agrippa, do you believe the prophets? I know you do" (26:27).

E. This challenge is for Agrippa to compare what the prophets foretold with what happened in Christ.

F. The king is in a dilemma. As an expert on the Jewish Scriptures, he knows what Paul is speaking about.

G. But he cannot afford to make connections between what he knows and what Paul is saying because then he will have to make a decision about Christianity.

H. He therefore brushes off the challenge with an evasive comment that means something like, "In short you are trying to persuade me to act the Christian" (26:28).

I. Agrippa has not come to this gathering with a view to making such a serious commitment. He simply wants to help Festus out by giving him advice about this case. He may also have looked forward to meeting one of the top leaders of this growing sect (Fernando, 596).

6. Now Agrippa interrupts Paul, "Agrippa interrupted him. “Do you think you can persuade me to become a Christian so quickly?” 29 Paul replied, “Whether quickly or not, I pray to God that both you and everyone here in this audience might become the same as I am, except for these chains.”

A. Suddenly, and with surprise, Agrippa realized Paul was trying to convert him.

B. By saying Agrippa believed the prophets, Paul was implying that he would therefore have to believe what they said about the Messiah, and this should cause him to believe what Paul said about Jesus.

C. But it seems Agrippa was not willing to say he did believe the prophets; neither was he willing to say he believed Paul (Horton, 390).

D. Paul, however, refused to be discouraged. He replied, "I pray to God that both in brief or at length [or in a great degree], not only you, but all who are listening to me today might become what I am [that is, a fortunate servant of Christ like me], except for these chains."

E. It is possible that Paul held up his hands to show the chains on his wrists at this point (Horton, 391).

7. Next Luke tells us, "Then the king, the governor, Bernice, and all the others stood and left.

31 As they went out, they talked it over and agreed, “This man hasn’t done anything to deserve death or imprisonment.” 32 And Agrippa said to Festus, “He could have been set free if he hadn’t appealed to Caesar.”

A. King Agrippa had heard enough. By standing up, he indicated the hearing was over. Then he and those with him went out and discussed the hearing.

B. All agreed that Paul had done nothing worthy of death or imprisonment; nothing in Roman law could hold him guilty.

C. Then Agrippa told Festus that Paul might have been set free "if he had not appealed to Caesar."

D. It is implied also that the emperor would see Paul's innocence and would have to set him free.

E. Though Nero was the emperor in A.D. 59, he had not yet embarked on any campaign against the Christians.

F. Under Roman law at this time it was not a crime to be a Christian. Not until Paul's second imprisonment, which is reflected in 2 Timothy, did it become dangerous under the Romans to be a Christian (Horton, 392).

B. What Will You Do With Jesus

1. Illustration: Too much comfort is dangerous. Literally. Researchers at the University of California at Berkeley did an experiment sometime ago that involved introducing an amoeba into a perfectly stress-free environment. Ideal temperature, optimal concentration of moisture, constant food supply-the amoeba had an environment to which it had to make no adjustment whatsoever. So you would guess that that was me happy little amoeba. Whatever it is that gives amoebas ulcers and high blood pressure was gone. Yet, oddly enough, it died. Apparently there is something about all living creatures, even amoebas, that demands challenge. We require change, adaptation, and challenge the way we require food and air. Comfort alone will kill us. When teachers want students to grow, they don’t give them answers-they give them problems! (Ortberg, John. If you Want to Walk on Water, you’ve got to Get Out of the Boat..., 47).

2. Challenge people to deal with Jesus!

A. (NLT)

Peter’s words pierced their hearts, and they said to him and to the other apostles, “Brothers, what should we do?” 38 Peter replied, “Each of you must repent of your sins, turn to God, and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ to show that you have received forgiveness for your sins. Then you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

B. We must not only tell people about Jesus but we must also challenge them to accept Jesus.

C. Like with Paul's experience, they may not like being challenged, but if we don't challenge them they will never grow and come to faith in Jesus.

D. We may not feel comfortable issuing a challenge the way Paul did, but if we want to grow we have to get out of our comfort zones.

E. There are people we encounter every day that need to hear about Jesus, and they need to be challenged to accept what Jesus has done for them.

F. Are you willing to say, "What are you going to do with Jesus?"

Conclusion

1. Does your story fit into the greatest story ever told? The answer to that question ought to be a resounding, "yes!" Your story fits into God's story because you fit into God's story, and God can use your story to make a difference in someone else's life.

2. Paul shows us how to tell our story. He shows us to start with...

A. Your Past

B. Your Personal Encounter

C. Your Challenge

3. Are you ready to tell your story?